Almost 3 Weeks

Wednesday marks 3 weeks attempting to be vegan. Each week it gets easier. This will be two weeks without meat, and this week I did have 1 cheese serving which I soon regretted. The hardest thing for me to give up hasn't been meat or cheese (though I do love love love cheese in just about everything). It has been the canned Starbucks Doubleshot coffee drinks. I finally found a recipe that taste almost exactly the same though so now I'm giving those up as well.

The copy cat recipe (and in vegan)

2 ounces low-fat milk (unsweetened almond milk)
2 ounces half-and-half (hazelnut coconut half-and-half)
1 ounce strong coffee or expresso
1 teaspoon sugar (raw sugar)

Mix the sugar and coffee then mix in all the milk stuff and let it chill.
This is 1/3rd the size of a can. The can has 210 calories three servings of this (which is a lot) is 187.5 calories or just about that.

(The original recipe was found on Food.com
http://www.food.com/recipe/just-like-starbucks-doubleshot-copycat-307829)

Notes:
1)The almond milk and coconut half-and-half that on my second batch I used half the sugar. I'm drinking it right now and still thinking that it has to much sugar. The next batches I will make won't have sugar at all.  (I'm also thinking that the raw sugar is sweeter than the bleached white sugar. It has a little punch in the after taste that I don't really care for, it is actually to sweet.)

2)Also, I really don't like coconuts, so this is an adjustment for me. I will be on the look out for almond half-and-half because, though I don't care for eating almonds, the milk is pretty good.

All is Quiet

Last week was pretty quiet on the personal crafting front because I had 3 private Pinterest Parties. (Of course I forget to take pictures -*face palm*!)

Here is one picture for the group on Friday with their finished projects.

This week I'm working on some bags and coin purses to list on Etsy and take to sell at Owl and Drum. They will be in the shop by Thursday night, when I go to host a Valentine's Day themed party.

Speaking of Pinterest Parties at Owl and Drum; we have already worked out our theme and crafts for the party at the end of February!

We will be doing a Jewelry themed party: making a zipper brooch, washer necklace, and pearl ribbon bracelet. I will post pictures as I get the samples ready. :)

What are you working on this week?

Foodie Day

Our group order from War Eagle Mill came today!  We order organic grains and flours from this mill near Eureka Springs, Arkansas. As an extra bonus, when you do a (group) order with a minimum of $99 they give you free shipping which is nice considering we were shipping 5 pound bags of flour and other items.

If you are ever in the area, I definitely suggest you stop by the mill. It is so charming, and tasty! Plus the flours come in fabric sacks, like in the "olden days", so not only do you get good food, but you get fabric too! Win-Win!!!

Also, concerning food, as you know, I love organizing things with baskets. Today I streamlined the refrigerator. :)

Baskets:
1) Salad fixings
2) Breakfast/Fruits
3) Dairy/Dairy related (since I'm trying for more vegan-like food consumption)
4) Josh's lunch (everything used to make his sandwiches except the bread)

I'm hoping that keeping things together like that will make cooking a little easier, and that there will be less food waste. I cannot tell you how many times I've accidentally left something from Josh's lunches on the counter in my morning rush. Hopefully that won't happen anymore.

The black baskets aren't pretty, but they will be easy to reach into and to wash, plus they are only $1.35 for 2 at the Dollar General. So for about $3 I just saved myself a lot of searching and hopefully food waste. :)

My Kind of Upholstery

This is my kind of Upholstery.  Find an unfinished wood bench at the craft store, some paint samples from the hardware store, some batting or stuffing scraps/leftovers, and a cute fat quarter.

This comes together so easily and the only tools you need are a staple gun and paint brush!

I may do a full tutorial later because I had fun making this one, but you can probably figure it out on your own.

Master Fort Builder!!!

As I mentioned before, I've started watching two girls before and after school. Today was Martin Luther King Jr. Day so there wasn't school which means I was able to spend the whole day with them!

First thing in the morning, after they finished breakfast, they asked if it would be okay to move the ottoman to make a little fort across their sectional sofa. Ha! They didn't know who they were asking. I do not make little forts!  I prefer forts that have multiple rooms! So that is what we made!

We also made a fort over the dining table so they could eat under it like a restaurant! Yeah, I let the kids eat on the floor, but I made sure they had clean place mats. (Plus, if there were any stray germs they just help make a stronger immune system, right?)

The girls had so much fun in their fort most of the day. There was a little sibling bickering which signaled that fort time was over, but they helped clean it up and then moved onto the next activity -getting along nicely. Forts are kind of magical like that.

You should go build one right now! Surprise your kids and get their creative juices flowing. :)

Round Robin

I'm participating in a Round Robin challenge at SewFlakes in Broken Arrow.

If you've never done one I would suggest you run down to your local quilt shop and beg for them to start a group in your area. It is so much fun.

The basic concept. Everyone in the group starts with the same fabrics. We started with fat 1/8ths of two creams and two browns. On the first month you take those fabrics and you add to them however you want to and assemble any block you want -the only rule is that the four fabrics have to be present somewhere.  The next month you hand off your block to the next person in line and they add to it whatever they want, which can but doesn't have to include the original fabrics.  Each month the block the blocks keep getting passed to the next person, without you getting to see your block in the progress. At the end of the program (depends on how many people are in your group) you get your block back and you get to see how everyone added to it! Its really fun, and it challenges you as you have to add on a little something to everyone else's block.

Anyway, here is the block I was working on this month.

It started as the applique block with the purple border. The next person in line added the border of triangle, and the third person added the top and bottom borders.  On my turn I added the strip of 4 1/2" blocks on the right.  I wanted to do these tiny blocks because 1) I love the challenge of small blocks and 2) this was my favorite block that came up when I Google Image searched "reproduction quilt blocks".  The lady receiving this is the reproduction fabric queen of Broken Arrow -maybe even all of Oklahoma, so I had to keep up with that.  That is what makes this fun, I never do reproduction style things and this was a fun excuse to give it a go without the commitment of a full quilt.

Valentine Pinterest Party

I'm doing a little prep work for an upcoming Pinterest party!

If you would like to attend an public Pinterest party look at the upcoming parties tab, and if you would like to book a party for your girl's night, girl scouts, kid's birthday, or just whatever occasion then please email me!

Tree-na

A picture from Josh....

(It made my heart smile!)

Organizing

Josh gives me a hard time because it seems that every time I start to clean a room I feel the need to get more storage boxes.  Really, who couldn't use more storage boxes? Besides that, we have an apartment that seems to get smaller every month -having the organized boxes seems to help me function a little better. Plus the things are so darned handy.

First I did some upkeep in the laundry closet.

I'm collecting vintage hankies/scarves and napkins for some future projects. In the meantime they've been living and falling in the closet so it was time to contain them. These sweater boxes are my new favorite size!

Then I moved on to the bathroom. Thanks to couponing I hardly every pay for toothpaste or deodorant  and I pay very little for feminine products and the few over the counter meds we do take. I try to be reasonable about the couponing, but sometimes you have to get the items you don't need right now because they are free and you might need them later. :)  Boxes help with this, because,  unlike the "extreme couponers" I don't have a basement to stockpile things in ....right now.

The black baskets aren't pretty, but they come in packages of two at the dollar store for $1.35 and they work nicely.  They have smaller black baskets (big enough to separate eating utensils into) (packs for 3 for $1.35) that I used to organize hair products and then  Josh's/extra shaving items into -the hair spray and mouse bottles stand up perfectly in them.

Is there something in particular that you like to use or do to organize?

Clothes Pin Garland Tutorial

I'm very excited to have partnered with Gleeful Peacock Mercantile to host Pinterest Parties throughout 2013!!!  Be sure to go check out her darling little shop on Brookside in Tulsa.

4240 S Peoria

Tulsa, Oklahoma 74105

www.facebook.com/gleefulpeacockmercantile

We've already had one party at Gleeful Peacock Mercantile where she hosted a Christmas themed Pinterest Party.  We made several cute items including this Christmas card garland!

We made several very Christmasy garlands, but for the purpose of the tutorial I made rainbow clothespins so I could keep it up all year long. Now I can use it to hold mail (icky bills), and groupons/vouchers for date nights (yay).

What you will need:

8 Clothes pins (come in packs of 32 at the Dollar Tree)

Ribbon (I used about 1 ½ yards, 4 ½ feet)

Hot Glue

Diamond Glaze (Did not find this at box stores, I went to a locally owned bead shop to find this.)

                (If you are in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, check out Beadles near Main Street)

Glitter

Paper Plates  (I also used wrapping paper over my work surface to help contain the glitter)

Foam Brush

Tiny Paint Brush

Slightly Watered-down Glue (or Mod Podge – I just ran out! Who does that?!)

3 Thumb Tacks

Step One:

Prepare for the Glitter! 

I use paper plates to shake the glitter back and forth so that it is easier to pour back into those teeny-tiny bottles when I’m done.

Step Two:

Apply a layer of glue to the top of the clothes pin using your foam brush –it should be even and not gloppy.

Step Three:

Pour Glitter All Over

Shake off the excess glitter.  If you see bare spots, usually around the outside edges, then gently apply more glue using the tip of your foam brush and sprinkle more glitter on top.  Make sure you shake the excess glitter of again, after you touch up. Set the clothes pin to the side and continue with the other 7 exactly like this.  

I did two clothes pins each of 4 different colors so I did both at the same time. It’s great to assembly line things when you can.

Step Four:

Add the Glaze

Working with one clothes pin at a time, after I was sure the glue was dry, I put about 7 drops of the diamond glaze on each clothes pin and used my small paint brush to smooth it out to the edges.  Be sure to push out any bubbles that you see because you can’t get rid of them once the glaze dries.

I found it helpful in preventing bubbles to keep my diamond glaze on its side in one hand while I used the paint brush in the other. 

Make sure these are dry before you try to hang them up. In the meantime jazz up your thumbtacks.

Step Five:

Beautify your Thumb Tacks

Hot glue a button to the top of each thumb tack.  Odds are you will pop the button off the first time you try to press them in the wall so keep your hot glue gun ready, just in case.

Step 6:

Assembly

Hang your ribbon along the wall with a thumb tack in the middle and one on each end. You can hang your ribbon horizontal or vertical.  I’m thinking I will rehang mine vertically by the front door to catch mail and other things that are coming and going.  (Our walls are a bit barren in the living room, so this garland hanging horizontally seems a bit off to me, proportionately speaking.)

Add your cards, bills, kids drawings, or anything else you want using the clothes pins spaced around the garland. And you are done!

-Go Have Fun With It!

Gift Bag Tutorial

For the October Pinterest Party at Owl and Drum I created a super easy trick-or-treat bag tutorial.  These bags are so easy to make, you could crank out a dozen in an hour! They make great gift bags.  I also like to use them as errand bags for taking things back to the library, or collecting things that I need to give to this friend or that family member.  Go check it out the tutorial on Owl and Drum's blog, here.

New Year.. New View

This was probably the most productive New Year's Eves in my life!

I've been wanting to do this painting project I saw on Pinterest for a while.

I finally started it on Sunday, and I finished it tonight!  It turned out really well except that I used a cheap paint brush! Now there are a few bristles stuck in the paint. You should never use cheap tools! I know better, and this is just more affirmation.  I will have to fix it later, but for now I'm okay with it.

I also made the bunting I saw on Pinterest! It is a little to long or a little to short, but I'm good with it too because at least it is finally finished!!!

I love the end result which required me taking all the fabric covered canvases off one wall just to hang them up on the next wall. :)